


a pale form singing sorrowfully (the loneliest, saddest song)

by miss_universe



Series: Writer's Month 2019 [16]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Song Lyrics, Soulmates, Timeline What Timeline, mix of book and show canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 11:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20275096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_universe/pseuds/miss_universe
Summary: Brienne was utterly convinced that she didn't have a soulmate.Writer's Month 2019 Prompt: Day Sixteen - Soulmates





	a pale form singing sorrowfully (the loneliest, saddest song)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ddagent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/gifts).

> Prompt fill for Writer's Month 2019.  
Day sixteen: Soulmates.
> 
> a huuuuuge thank you to ddagent, who was a MASSIVE help with this fic! <3  
jaime's pov to this will be coming on day 22!
> 
> all songs are from a song of ice and fire.

Brienne was utterly convinced that she didn’t have a soulmate. Her father told her when she was younger she used to sing songs that were never played on Tarth, but she didn’t fully believe him. She rarely heard music in her head, and if she did, it was only quick snippets of lyrics. Her father was tight-lipped about what songs she sang, only saying she heard a little bit of the song.  


_ “And who are you, the proud lord said, _

_ that I must bow so low?” _

  
It usually cut off after that, so Brienne was convinced that she had simply imagined it. After all, who would be so cruel that the Gods punished them with her as a soulmate? So she moved on, and if she ever heard a few lyrics from _ A Cask of Ale, _she attributed it to overhearing it sung by one of Renly’s soldiers or camp followers. 

On her part, at least, sometimes she sang to herself when she was alone. If she really _ did _ have a soulmate, she didn’t want them to think they were alone. She didn’t know many songs, and half of the ones she did weren’t things she would sing to her soulmate. If Brienne ever heard her soulmate sing, she wouldn’t want to hear a rendition of _ Lusty Lad. _She would want a pretty song, something with meaning attached to it.

So when she was alone in her tent at night, she would sing a few verses of a song.   


_ “Listen to the music flow, _

_ I'm falling for the flow of home, _

_ I'm home to dance till dawning.” _

  
Brienne didn’t have much of a voice for singing, hers was too deep and rough to be pleasing to the ears, but she thought that if she did have a soulmate, they might appreciate it.  


* * *

  
The first time she met the Kingslayer, he was filthy. Dirt and grime coated his skin, and she was fairly sure that the man had fleas. Still, even though he was dirty he kept his head high, green eyes glinting maliciously behind his limp, golden hair. He was chained and secured, but Brienne could still see the tension in his muscles, reminding her of a mountain cat waiting to pounce. _ A Lannister lion indeed. _

Then Lady Catelyn told her she wanted to have Brienne escort him to King’s Landing in exchange for Sansa and Arya. Brienne agreed, of course, and tried to ignore the taunts that came with him. Even as her prisoner he held onto his pride, cruelty dripping from his tongue easily. He was creative with his mocking, not only attacking her appearance but also her temperament, the way she walked, the way she talked and her choices in life. Only once did he bring up soulmates, and that was the only time she flinched from his insults. 

“I pity the man who is shackled to you for life, wench. Do you even _ have _a soulmate, you great monstrosity? Could your soulmate be a cow, or a horse? Surely it couldn’t be a man, for you are more beast than human.” He spat, and she had bitten her thick bottom lip so hard it had drawn blood. The Kingslayer noticed it and something unfamiliar flashed in his eyes before he ducked his head. They walked in silence for the rest of the day.

Of course his good behavior didn’t last long, and soon they were fighting, steel clashing against steel, both of them fighting for the upper hand. “Come on, come on, my sweetling, the music’s still playing. Might I have this dance, My Lady?” He taunted, humming a tune under his breath, and she _ could _ hear the music playing, and they _ were _ dancing, and she was filled with a joy that she couldn’t name, only thinking, _ Even in this state, he is still remarkable. Imagine if he were not weakened by captivity! _ She was better, though, and even though she recognized the same fierceness in his eyes, she had to end their dance, and she almost did. One more step and she would’ve disarmed him, but then they were interrupted, and suddenly their sword fight was the last thing on her mind.  


* * *

  
The Kingslayer was giving up. His cheeks were flushed fever-red and sweat was dripping down his forehead onto his hair. The only indication that he was still alive were the sounds of his raspy breathing, low moans of pain and the occasional muttered sleep-talkings. Brienne would not let him die, would not let him give into the Stranger. At this point it wasn’t even a matter of her oath, although it did matter, it was the fact that even the Kingslayer did not deserve such an undignified ending to his story, and not at the hands of such dishonorable men. She would not let the Kingslayer give Locke the satisfaction. 

The horse they were tied to stumbled on something, jostling the Kingslayer into Brienne’s chest, his stump hitting the bone of her hip. He gave a low moan of pain, then started his delirious mutterings under his breath once again, getting further and further agitated. She felt helpless, unable to soothe the man who was suffering more than his due. She cast a look around at their captors, and noticing they were being ignored, shifted closer to his ear and began to sing lowly into his ear, hoping that would help calm the Kingslayer, perhaps make him remember his soulmate.   


_ “I loved a maid as fair as Summer, _

_ With sunlight in her hair. _

_ I loved a maid as red as Autumn, _

_ With sunset in her hair.” _

  
Her voice was raspy from disuse and thirst, and she heard it crack in the middle once, but it soothed him, making his rambling stop and his head come to rest on her shoulder, his breathing just a little easier. So she continued singing to him, hoping that he would live to hear his soulmates voice singing him a song.  


* * *

  
“Jaime,” He had said to her after swooning into her arms, “My name’s Jaime.” He had poured his soul out to her, telling her the true story of the Mad King and the reason why he was known as the Kingslayer. She had listened to his slurring and been shocked still, horrified by what she was hearing but unable to ask him to stop. Jaime Lannister was an honorable man who did the realm a favor, and she resolved never to call him Kingslayer again. The world was truly unfair. He had confessed an affair with his sister as well, but he told her that Cersei had convinced him when he was young that they were soulmates, and only recently did he learn that was a lie. 

“How did you find out?” She had asked, and he didn’t answer her. 

Then Bolton told them that Brienne was to stay in Harrenhal, and her heart sank to her stomach. She could feel the lecherous looks that Locke and his men were giving her, making her hair stand straight up on the back of her neck in warning. _ They will not take me easily. _

Ser Jaime said goodbye to her, and a few hours after their farewell, Locke and his men came into her room and tore off her clothes, not touching her, just throwing her a pink dress and taking away the rest of her clothing so she was either forced to be bare or wear it. She put it on, trying not to cringe away from their malevolent gazes. Once the dress was on, they grabbed her arms and the back of her neck and pushed her into a pit. 

She looked around wildly, noticing a bear behind a wooden gate. _ Oh no. _

“Let’s see who wins - the beast or the beast!” Locke roared, a large crowd attracted to his shouts of glee. Once they saw her in the pit, they started laughing, and soon someone started singing.   


_ “A bear there was, a bear, a bear! _

_ All black and brown, and covered with hair. _

_ The bear! The bear!” _

Brienne was sick, and not just because of her imminent death. It pained her to her core that the last thing her soulmate would hear, if they existed, was the singing of these evil men. Locke threw her down a sword and she grabbed it with relief, thinking she had half a chance, only for her stomach to swoop in disappointment.

Those bastards gave her a wooden sword. 

_ Cowards, _ She thought with a sudden blistering fury, _ I will die, but the Seven will take your souls the same as me, and I will wait for you even beyond death. _

Locke opened the gate, still singing that damned song, and Brienne watched as the huge bear stumbled out, blinking its eyes to adjust to the sunlight. It’s snout wiggled and it turned to her, smelling her instantly, taking a few steps toward her. It’s claws were only a bit smaller than her face, and she realized she would not be given a quick death.

Still, she would go out fighting. She raised her wooden sword and pointed it at the bear, making it snarl and lunge at her. The swift movement took her off guard, making her try to dodge its claws, one of them landing a blow to her collarbone before she ran away. The claws tore her skin and she winced, the pain mixing with her adrenaline. 

She backed away as it stood on it’s back legs, pointing her sword at it once again even though dread flooded through her veins, knowing it was futile. _ This is how I die. _

Then, before she even had time to send a quick prayer to the Seven, she heard a thump behind her. She turned her head quickly, loathe to take her eyes off the bear, and her jaw opened in shock. “Jaime?” She asked, and he stepped forward. 

“Get behind me.” He said, already reaching out for her, wrapping one arm around her waist and yanking her back. 

“I will not!” She protested, but he stood in front of her anyway, standing tall in front of her, eyeing the bear warily. She realized that she was wrong in the baths, for if he was half a god then, she had no words to describe what he was _ now, _looking every bit like the lion he claimed to be.

Then an arrow flew from the crowd and landed into the bear’s shoulder, making him roar in pain and anger, and they escaped.  


* * *

After leaving Harrenhal with Jaime, she finally gathered all of her courage and asked, “I am grateful you came back. But why did you? You were well away.” 

Jaime gave her a glance from the corner of his bright green eyes, then gave her a dark smile. “I heard them, Lady Brienne. I heard them singing The Bear and the Maiden Fair even before we reached Harrenhal.”

Brienne blinked at him twice. “But that means-”

Jaime nodded, cutting her off. “Yes, my lady, it does. We will speak more once we reach King’s Landing.” He gave a subtle nod to Bolton’s men, and she understood that he didn’t want her to speak about it while they were surrounded by former enemies. She gave him a nod, her mind whirling. 

_ I suppose I do have a soulmate after all. _

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed!


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